welcome to nhk world "newsline". people living in parts of china know the air they've struggled to breathe lately has been bad even hazardous. now chinese authorities have enhanced their system to give citizens a better idea of just how bad things are and what they should do. they've created a higher smog alert to respond to serious air pollution that plagues the country. the amount of fine particulate matter in the high has been high. it's found diesel exhaust and industrial smoke, increasing

number of chinese are suffering from respiratory problems so national meteorological center officials decided to add a third level to their two level smog alert. the highest warning now advises people to stay indoors. >> translator: i can't stand it any more. i want to leave this place. >> translator: it's the worst i've ever seen. the regime of old is gone forever. >> people have also turned to the chinese social networking site to complain. some blame the government's growth oriented policies for causing serious air pollution. others have written songs about the pollution. ♪

chinese foreign ministry spokesperson says the government is trying to clean up the air. >> translator: authorities are taking emergency measures. the government will make more positive efforts to regulate emissions and pollution. >> chinese premier has ordered effective measures be introduced to reduce emissions. that prompted officials to reduce the number of public vehicles, service and halt factory operations. officials in eastern and inland provinces issued the new higher alert on wednesday but their counterparts in beijing didn't. still the heavy smog forced japanese schools in the chinese capital to cancel outdoor

activities for the third straight day. we have more on the smog in beijing and where the winds will take it next. we have meteorologist robert speta. robert? >> well, gene, over much of the beijing area, northeast china we've been seeing this high pressure in place and it has been acting as a cap keeping the pollutants in the air across much of the region. the high pressure will transport down here towards the south and the winds will shift from the west to the east. what happens is as that does so it will be transporting along much of northeastern china and all those pollutants and aerosols into korea and across japan. even into japan you've been seeing some of this. across western japan as well. so definitely want to watch this. anybody with respiratory issues you need to keep a close eye. stay indoors if possible. also it's going to be continuing to linger throughout your day on thursday and friday then another weather system will be pulling

through. that's not only going to bring rain showers but shift these winds from the south and on tokyo on saturday it will be affecting here. more weather in 20 minutes. okay. thanks being rocket. islamists extremists are launching attacks across north africa and world leaders are drawing up plans to stop them. u.s. defense leaders are expanding their role in the region. they are establishing a presence in niger. pentagon press secretary george little said al qaeda poses a threat across the region. he said they have noting worked out the details yet but u.s. media have reported that niger's leaders have given permission for a u.s. drone base in the country. >> this is a very important agreement and we, of course, looking to work with them to define what kind of military presence we'll have in niger in the future. >> niger shares a border with

algeria. islamist militants took hundreds of workers hostage at a gas plant earlier this month. 34 foreign workers were killed. niger borders mali where french and other forces are fighting insurgents. rebels took advantage of a military coup last year to take cold of large parts of northern mali. people in another conflict zone are seeing more evidence of the cruelty of war. the bodies of 65 men have been found in the northern syrian city of aleppo. most victims were shot in the head. opposition fighters and anti-government forces are blaming each other for the atrocity. a syrian human rights activist says the victims were in their 20s and 30s and that some had their hands bound behind their backs. the activists says the bodies were found alongside a river in part of aleppo that opposition

forces control. the rebels had been engaged in prolonged battles with the syrian military. a senior government official told afp news agency the victims were supporters of president bashir al assad and had been kidnapped by terrorists. but the human rights activists says militia supporting assad abducted the victims. the united nations and arab league envoy to syria warns the country is breaking up before everybody's eyes. lakhdar brahimi is urging the security council to do something now. >> syrian has been destroyed bit by bit. and in destroying syria, the region is being pushed into a situation that is extremely bad and extremely important for the entire world. >> brahimi wants the council to take concrete action.

security council has been divided on this conflict. the united states and other western countries have demanded president assad step down. russia and china have close ties with his administration. their leaders oppose international intervention in syria's domestic affairs. a new survey suggests even people in countries considered to have a free press shouldn't take it for granted. reporters without borders released its annual survey assessing the commitment by governments to protect freedom of the press. japan plunged 31 spots to 53rd place out of 179 countries and territories. the nonprofit group says the japanese government lacked transparency and failed to give the media sufficient access to information following the 2011 nuclear accident in fukushima. reporters without borders spokes persons say japan's fall from it's normally high ranking should serve as warning. the survey says media in finland

enjoyed the most freedom followed by other european nations such as netherlands and norway. myanmar rose 18 places to 151st. it abolished censorship in 2012. china remained unchanged. north korea remained second last at 178th. atrea remains last. judo federationoi apologize for their actions. there was a written complaint about coaches slapping them in face and used forms of other abuse at a training camp before last year's london olympics. the all japan judo federation

senior director admitted the allegations a allegations and apologized. he saeded the federation reprimanded the head coach. the fed regulate said he was involved in a total of five violent incidents from august of 2010 to february 2012. it says he admitted to hitting athletes to failed to follow his instructions and jabbing them with a stick. he reportedly said he did so because of an overwhelming desire to see them win. the federation plans to have him stay on as head coach saying he has expressed deep regret for his action. body also plans to set up a counselling service to improve communication between athletes and coaches. meanwhile the japan olympic committee or joc has said it required the federation hold a fact-finding inquiry involving all wrestlers. >> translator: we haven't finished listening to all the

wrestlers. so the problem is not solved. considering the wrestlers feelings we will do our best to find a solution. >> sports commentator criticized them saying the use of violence has no place in coaching. >> translator: harassment and corporal punishment are not appropriate training methods. athletes are at the center of any sport. the coaches are nothing but support and should be aware that their job is to help athletes perform at their best. many japanese companies are releasing their earnings report this week. ntt docomo has suffered a decline pinpoint said because

its subscribers have shifted towards operators with iphones. ntt docomo executives said sales rose around $12.8 billion. but operating profit fell 1.8% to around $2.5 billion. profits in the nine months from april to december showed a 5.6% drop. the lower profit is due to greater cost needed to attract customers including more discounts. company is losing out to competitors which offer the iphone. ntt docomo president said the number of subscribers rebounded in december after two gloomy months but expects the situation to remain harsh. canon says the yen's decline will likely push up its profit for this year by more than $1 billion. for the business year through december 2012 the precision equipment maker said that its sales fell 2.2% from the

previous year to about $38 billion. it's operating profit dropped 14.3% to $3.6 billion. both figures posted delines for two years running. canon's executives say stronger yen and soured relations between china and japan are the main reasons for the falling earnings. on the outlook for 2013 the executives expect better results. they project annual sales to rise by 9% or around $2.2 billion. operating profit is likely to jump to $1.2 billion. for the firm's assume weaker yen exchange rates for this year, canon has set them at 85 yen to the dollar and 115 yen to the euro. executive vice president added that he expects the global market situation to improve later this year. >> translator: we hope that

economic measures introduced by the new administrations in japan, the u.s. and china will help fuel a recovery in consumption in the latter half the year. >> mitsubishi electric will buy out a german firm that designs and develops plant sewage treatment and waste disposal systems. the japanese electronics maker said it reached the deal with kh automation projects to acquire all its shares. my sue beneficia mitsubishi elect tricks say the deal should be completed by march. the goal is to expand the social from your business in europe. the deal will allow both firms to combine each other's products. more japanese electronics firms are boosting their operations in the social infrastructure sector to expand their foot hold in

overseas markets. the focus is on waste water treatment, waste disposal, railroads and power generation. now let's check on the markets. european shares are trading at a narrow range as investors are staying on the sidelines. they are waiting for the release of data on u.s. fourth quarter gdp and the outcome of the u.s. federal reserve two day policy meeting. both are due out later on wednesday. london's footcy 100 gaining by just a fraction as we see there. frankfurt's dax index falling by 1 -- .13%. asian stocks rose. tokyo's nikkei gained 50 points as the yen remains weak. chinese stocks higher, shanghai stocks rose 1% while hong kong climbed .7%. the yen is losing ground

against major skrins as market players are moving towards more risky assets. traders are buying the euro as they are hopeful about a global economic recovery. the japanese currency fell to a two year and nine month low against the euro reaching the 123 yen level against the dollar the japanese currency lost ground the 91 yen level. dollar/yen right now 91.33-34. euro yen changing hands at 13.76-83. south korean exporters have dramatically increased their global market share in recent years. but the tide seems to be turning as a surge in the value of the yuan is one reason. we explain the headwinds facing south korean manufacturers. >> reporter: the weak yuan has provide a strong foundation for exporters but the good times may be coming to an end. the yuan has risen against the

yen almost 30% since last june. the currency is fluctuating between 1100 and 1,200 per 100 yen. the yuan has continued to rise against the dollar. last month the korean automotive research institute released a report. the report says that when the yen weakens by 1% against the yuan south korean car exports decrease by 1.2%. hyundai owns hyundai motor and kia motors and one of the main j.j.s of the south korean economy. in his new year's speech the company chairman acknowledged the tough global economic situation vowing to tackle the challenges ahead. >> translator: we have to boost

our competitive edge by improving the quality of our cars. >> reporter: the rising yuan is not the only challenge. workers have staged a series of strikes. they demanded wage increases and improved working conditions. domestic production costs have soared as a result. one of hyundai's biggest korean plants is about 300 kilometers south of seoul. company managers and union leaders worked out a new deal in september after four months negotiation. hyundai officials eliminated overnight shifts for the first time since 1967, the company's founding. >> translator: i think it's great because now i have time to do something for myself. i can properly be healthier because i can sleep at night.

>> reporter: along with the elimination of overnight shifts, the firm is raising basic wages by 5.4%. in addition, to make up for the reduced working hours, management will invest $300 million in better facilities. however, the labor disputes are still continuing. two union leaders have been stage a sit-in protest on an electricity pylon since october. >> translator: what we demand as temporary workers is that the company follow the court's decision and hire us as full time employees. >> reporter: this research fellow at korean institute for industrial economic trade says labor management is one of the most pressing issues. >> translator: since overseas demand has grown a lot,

factories are in full production. but the insecure relationship between workers and employers is hampering even greater production. >> reporter: south korea relies on exports for roughly half its gdp. its entire company can stagnate if major exporters like hyundai lose their competitiveness. president elect park geun-hye will face a difficult time steering the country. gas streetlights are an integral part of the urban landscape in berlin. they lit up the pavements of the german capital for nearly 200 years. but this old tradition is now facing a turning point.

we have more. >> reporter: lamps start sprinkling in the gathering dusk filling the streets with soft yellow light. they are design is typical of the 19th-century. the earliest models are nearly 200 years old. more than 40,000 units are still in use. >> translator: the atmosphere of gaslighting is fantastic. it's an essential part of berlin. >> translator: just seeing the lamps gives me peace. >> reporter: in the days of the cold war, west berlin was surround by east germany. updating the city's infrastructure was not easy task. and the old gas lamps survived. however, something is changing. the tear down of the lanterns

has begun. last year authorities began replacing the gas lights with electric models. one of the motor motives is an to cut costs but the ageing lamps is prone to malfunction. many stay lit during the day. city officials say the switch over will slash costs by 90% per lamp and reduce carbon emissions. >> translator: gaslights are clearly outdated. technically speaking they are relics of the past. >> reporter: the decisioni the

sparked protest. >> translator: removal work must be stopped. >> reporter: this is a radiological technician. he organized one of the demonstrations. people formed a human chain around one of the removal sites. when the work began protesters tried to interfere. >> translator: today's action proved successful. we managed to halt the removal work. >> reporter: but the next day he found the lamp had been replaced with an electric light pole. pieces from the former light were scattered on the ground.

he launched a petition to save the historic lamps. he gathered signatures from more than 20,000 people. >> translator: gaslights are small gems along the streets of berlin. i'll do whatever i need to protect them. >> reporter: berlin's gas lamps have long cast a warm light on its residents, but the capital's push to achieve greater efficiency means it could soon be relegated to the pages of history. a severe winter storm is going through the central u.s. once again here's meteorologist robert speta with the details. robert? >> that's right, gene. actually across much of the lower mississippi river valley even extending off into the ohio river valley we're seeing severe thunderstorm and tornado

warnings in effect due to this very strong storm system. it's really just all along this cold frontal area surging in warm air from the south and what that is doing it will be colliding with all of this cold arctic air coming in out of canada and once that collides that is where you're going to be seeing this very severe weather threat even across portions of tennessee. then over towards the carolinas you're going to be seeing that frontal area push through, bringing with it all of these destructive winds, tornadoes, ping pong size hail and then off towards the north into the great lakes, even though the rough weather is down toward the south windy conditions and heavy snow is very well likely. localized areas seeing up to 12 centimeters. behind this frontal area this cold air will be changing things up. even across the rockies. you're still seeing heavy snowfall. denver just with a high of 5. take a look at winnipeg minus 16. on thursday this is even expected to get lower.

chicago yesterday you saw record breaking highs. now back near the freezing mark. but look out ahead of that frontal area for you there in much of the eastern seaboard including washington, d.c. down to atlanta, it's rather warm. not going to be lasting very long. just enjoy it for the time being because once that system pushes through things will be changing. now across much of europe we have a storm system that's lingering towards the west. scandinavia peninsula see how deep that rope that's wrapping around here. that's indicating a very deep pressure interacting with high pressure across the iberian peninsula and strong interaction sets up this tight gradient. gusty winds. sustained winds up to 60 kilometers. already wind reports of this gust over 140 kilometers per hour in portions of the uk over towards france. the system is bringing heavy rain showers expected to continue across low countries and shift over to snow as it moves into western portions of russia. out there towards moscow getting

a few centimeters of accumulation. british alps a short break. right on its heels is another storm system going into thursday. temperature remaining warm for now. this is also going cooling off. as we take a look off towards the east, rather chilly there in moscow and kiev. just below the freezing mark. here's a look at your forecast.

we'll be back in 30 minutes with more news. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks very much for joining us. have a great day wherever you

are.